Mirabeau(Political Subdivision)French From Provençal mirar ("to see") and bel ("beautiful"). This is the name of a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, which is in southeastern France.
Miramichi(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Mi'kmaq, French, English The name Miramichi is believed to have originated from the Mi'kmaq word Maissime'jg, meaning "he who gathers" or "place of gathering", referring to the area's historical importance for Indigenous peoples... [more]
Mirna(River, Settlement & Political Subdivision)Slovene Dissimilation from Slavic nyrati meaning "to rise from the earth." It is the name of a river, village, and municipality in Slovenia.
Mishiguaganan(Mountain)Spanish (Latin American) A mountain in Peru. Possibly from Ancash Quechua mishi meaning "cat" and waqay meaning "crying, to cry".
Mississauga(Region)Ojibwe (Anglicized) From the Anishinaabe word misi-zaagiing, meaning "Those at the Great River Mouth". Name of the Mississauga tribe, and now a name of a Toronto suburb. Closely related to the Ojibwe word misswezahging, mean "river of many outlets".
Mitaka(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 鷹 (taka) meaning "hawk". This is the name of a city in the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan.
Miðjarðarhafið(Body of Water)Icelandic Combination of Icelandic mið/ur "middle", jarðar (the genitive singular form of jörð) "earth" and haf "sea". This is the Icelandic name for the Mediterranean Sea.
Mito(Settlement)Japanese The kanji that make up the name are 水 (mizu), meaning "water", and 戸 (to), meaning "door". This is the name of the capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.
Miyagi(Political Subdivision)Japanese Means "home castle" in Japanese.
Miyagi(Political Subdivision)Japanese From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 城 (ki) meaning "castle". This is the name of a prefecture of Japan.
Miyazaki(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Mizoram(Region)Mizo The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "land." Thus "Mizo-ram" means "land of the Mizos".
Mocha(Settlement)English, Arabic (Anglicized) Variant of Mokha, from Arabic المُخا (al-Mukhā), the name of a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. Long known for its coffee trade, the city gave its name to mocha coffee.
Mogholestan(Country, Political Subdivision & Region)Persian From Persian مغول (moğul) meaning "Mongol, Mongolian" combined with the suffix ستان (stân) meaning "land of". This is the Persian name for Mongolia.
Molise(Political Subdivision)Italian, English, French Most likely derived from the Norman family de Moulins of Moulins-la-Marche. Rodolphe de Moulins, forefather of the family, became count of Bojano in 1053, which would go on to form the County of Molise.... [more]
Mompracem(Political Subdivision, Region, Settlement & Island)Literature, Popular Culture Mompracem is the historical name of Kuraman, which is currently known primarily as the alter ego name of Keraman in the Sandokan series.
Mon(Political Subdivision)Mon, English, Thai From the Mon ethnic name မန် (mon) derived from the older name ရမာန် (raman), ultimately from Pali Rāmañña referring to the Mon homeland along the Burmese coast... [more]
Monaco(Country)English, French This is the name of a sovereign city-state and microstate bordering France on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea on one side.... [more]
Mondulkiri(Political Subdivision)Khmer Means “center of mountains” in Khmer.
Mondulkiri(Political Subdivision)Khmer Means "center of mountains" from Khmer មណ្ឌល (mondol) meaning "center, circle" and គិរី (kiri) meaning "mountain, hill". This is the name of a province of Cambodia.
Mongibel(Mountain)Arthurian Cycle The name given to Mount Etna, in Sicily, when it is considered an Arthurian locale. Morgan planned to bring Arthur there after he was given his final wound.... [more]
Mongol Uls(Country)Mongolian From Mongolian монгол (mongol), the name of the Mongolian people, and улс (uls) meaning "country, nation". This is the Mongolian name for Mongolia.
Montego Bay(Settlement)English Possibly from Spanish manteca meaning "fat, lard", allegedly because lard, leather and beef were exported there during the Spanish period. This is the name of a city in Jamaica.
Monterrei(Political Subdivision)Spanish, English From Galician monte "mountain" and rei "king". This was the modern name of a municipality in Galicia, historically called Monterrey.
Monterrey(Region)Spanish Borrowed from Galician Monterrei. This is the name of the largest city in northeastern Mexico. This is also the name of a city in California.
Montevideo(Settlement)English, Spanish All agree that "Monte" refers to the Cerro de Montevideo, the hill situated across the Bay of Montevideo, but there is disagreement about the etymological origin of the "video" part. This is name of Uruguay’s capital city.
Montreal(Settlement)English Name of a city in Canada, from French le mont Royal "mont royal". Jacques Cartier named it after the nearby mountain, but it is uncertain how royal became real... [more]
Monywa(Settlement)Burmese Means "Hmong village" from Burmese မုံ (mon) referring to the Hmong people and ရွာ (ywa) meaning "village". This is the name of a city in Myanmar.
Moon(Other)Astronomy The moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. it is the fifth largest satellite in the solar system.... [more]
Moorhead(Settlement)English Transferred use of the surname Moorhead. The city in Minnesota is named for William Galloway Moorhead, an official of the Northern Pacific Railway.
Moose Jaw(Settlement)English, Cree The origin of Moose Jaw's name is debated. One theory suggests it comes from the Cree word "Moosoochapiskanis", meaning "warm place by the river", referring to the area's natural water sources. Another explanation is that the river bends in the shape of a moose's jaw, which led to the name... [more]
Moraga(Settlement)English Transferred use of the Spanish surname Moraga. The city in California was named for the rancher and local landowner Joaquín Moraga.
Morden(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English The city of Morden was named after Alvey Morden, an early settler and entrepreneur who played a role in developing the area. The name Morden is of Old English origin, likely derived from "mor" (marsh, moor) and "denu" (valley), meaning "valley near a moor".
Mordovia(Political Subdivision)English From Russian Мордовия (Mordoviya) derived from the name of the Mordvin (or Mordva) people. The name is thought to be derived from the Iranian root mard meaning "man". This is the name of a republic of Russia.
Morioka(Settlement)Japanese Means "prosperous hill" in Japanese. The kanji that make up the name are 盛 (mori), meaning "prosper", and 岡 (oka), meaning "hill". This is the name of the capital city of Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
Mos Eisley(Settlement)Popular Culture Mos Eisley is a fictional town and large spaceport located on the planet Tatooine in the 'Star Wars' universe. The name is unexplained.
Mosul(Settlement)English Ultimately derived from Arabic الموصل (al-mawsil) meaning "the linking point, the junction" in reference to a bridge and ford over the Tigris river... [more]
Mount Everest(Mountain)English This is a 8848 meter tall mountain on the border of Nepal and China, it’s the highest mountain on Earth above sea level. The mountain was named after the British surveyor Sir George Everest, when the surveyor general of India Andrew Waugh couldn’t find a commonly used local name for the mountain.
Mount Kilimanjaro(Mountain)African The name of a mountain in Africa. From the Swahili word Kilima meaning “mountain”, and from the Kichagga word Njaro meaning “whiteness”.
Mount Pearl(Settlement)English The name Mount Pearl is believed to have been inspired by the scenic beauty of the area, possibly referring to a prominent hill (mount) and the pearl-like appearance of the region’s landscape or natural features, such as rivers and lakes... [more]
Mourne(Mountain)Irish Both the name of a mountain range and a river in Northern Ireland, meaning "misty fists" from Irish múig "smoke, gloom" and dorn "fist".
Mqinvartsveri(Mountain)Georgian Means "glacier peak" or "freezing cold peak" from Georgian მყინვარი (mq̇invari) meaning "glacier" and წვერი (c̣veri) meaning "tip, point, vertex, top". This is the Georgian name for Mount Kazbek.